Kevin Spenst, MFA 2011
Kevin Spenst is the author of four full-length books of poetry along with sixteen chapbooks including Surrey Sonnets (JackPine Press), Recto Verso Chez the Devil’s Printers (co-written with Joshua Pitre for Collusion Books) and Hymned Data (Pinhole Poetry.) He is one of the organizers of the Dead Poets Reading Series, has a chapbook review column for subTerrain magazine, and teaches poetry at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory where he cohabitates with the one and only Cheryl Rossi.
How did your time in the Creative Writing Program influence your work?
UBC revived my love of poetry in the biggest way imaginable.
What’s your latest published/performed work?
A Bouquet Brought Back from Space (Anvil Press, 2024)
Are you connected to any creative writing communities you’d like to mention (UBC alums, film and theatre communities, etc)?
The Dead Poets Reading Series, Poets Corner Reading Series and Wax Poetic on Co-op radio.
Is there anything else about your writing career you’d like to share?
Through the ups and downs of juggling all the bits and pieces of working as an author, I’m glad to have studied at UBC with Rhea Tregebov as my thesis advisor, an undertaking which resulted in my second published book, Ignite (2016, Anvil Press.) I learned an invaluable amount from Rhea about poetry and life. She was a stellar mentor!
Casey Letendre, MFA 2023
The School of Creative Writing is pleased to congratulate Casey Letendre, MFA. Casey’s graduate thesis is a fantasy novel entitled The Study of the Ward.
Casey is Cree from Enoch Cree Nation and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. A lover of science fiction and fantasy since childhood, much of her work explores different subgenres of speculative fiction. She was both a writer and editor for the Bolo Tie Collective. While in the program, she has been working as lead writer and a mission designer for the indie game project Sidetracked!, an upcoming multiplayer fantasy RPG.
Casey’s novel, The Study of the Ward, is a fantasy novel that explores a world where colonization was stopped in its tracks by magic. This fun, secondary world fantasy grapples with serious topics related to the modern Indigenous experience such as racism, sexism, and colonial vs traditional worldviews. The protagonist, Tara, faces these challenges, but experiences familial support and a chance to explore her own personal interests as she embarks on a journey to study magic. This novel realizes that there’s joy in life alongside the hardships and focuses in on humour and fun over trauma.
Contact
Request more information about Casey’s thesis project using our Grad Showcase Contact Form.
Andrew Calderone, MFA 2023
The School of Creative Writing is pleased to congratulate Andrew Calderone, MFA. Andrew’s graduate thesis is a novel entitled Northern Barbecue.
Andrew Calderone is an author and filmmaker from Toronto. Borders in the Sand, his second novel, was written while roaming Central America and the Dominican Republic. The book is out now from AOS Publishing. His first novel, Thirsty Scholars, was crafted at the Humber School for Writers. Andrew wrote and co-directed the award-winning films Cold Is My Brother and Exit Interview (CBC). He has studied at University College Cork in Ireland, the University of the West Indies in Barbados, York University in Toronto, and his third novel was written at the University of British Columbia’s School of Creative Writing.
Cook Luca Wright-Russo dreams of winning a Michelin Star. When his mother—sous chef at their Toronto restaurant—takes her talents back to the Italian island where she was born, Luca learns that his father is alive and was once Vancouver’s chef of the year. The road to the coast brings the young cook face-to-face with the truth about his family, bears, drug-running tree-planters, big waves, forest fires, and mouth-watering recipes. Northern Barbecue takes the reader on a culinary adventure across Canada, to the Mediterranean, and back again, following one cook’s journey to discover what makes a truly great meal… and who is most worthy of it.
Video: Book trailer for Borders in the Sand.
Contact
Request more information about Andrew’s thesis project using our Grad Showcase Contact Form.
Brook Ellis, MFA 2023
The School of Creative Writing is pleased to congratulate Brook Ellis, MFA. Brook’s graduate thesis is a novel entitled Bemini Falls, AR.
Writing is Brook’s way of reimagining, escaping, and understanding the world, both past and present. In her writing, she likes to examine power dynamics and the moments they tip. Before coming to the program, Brook worked as a producer in unscripted television and had a hand in creating more than 700 hours of unscripted programming. While at UBC, she rediscovered her love for scripted television. Her original pilot script, “I Hate This Place,” was a second-rounder for the Austin Film Festival and a Quarterfinalist for ScreenCraft’s TV Pilot Competition.
Bemini Falls, AR, is a young adult novel following 15-year-old Jade, who escapes the criminal justice system and holds up in her mother’s ancestral home in Bemini Falls. There’s something odd about the town, but Jade, who’s always been off herself, feels at home for the first time. When she witnesses a horrible crime, Jade becomes privy to a secret the townsfolk are willing to kill to keep. Jade must decide if she’ll stay and keep Bemini’s secret or leave and face the consequences that await her in the outside world. With elements of magical realism, the novel questions what it means to be truly free and what we relinquish to belong.
Contact
Request more information about Brook’s thesis project using our Grad Showcase Contact Form.